Denny Ray Hardin, 52, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

“Hardin willfully ignored repeated warnings from officials that his worthless financial documents were fraudulent,” Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said. “Instead, he continued to cheat people with false promises of debt relief while he profited from their desperation.

“Today’s tough sentence sends a clear message that we will not tolerate such nonsense and will aggressively prosecute criminal behavior inspired by ‘sovereign citizen’ ideology,” Philips added. “Those who attempt to undermine the legitimate function of the government and the courts by filing frivolous legal and financial documents will be held accountable for their actions.”

On Sept. 14, 2011, Hardin was convicted at the conclusion of a bench trial. Hardin was found guilty of 11 counts of creating fictitious obligations and 10 counts of mail fraud.

Hardin produced and issued numerous ABonded Promissory Notes@ (BPNs), which are completely fictitious financial instruments that Hardin claimed to be backed by an account with the U.S. Department of Treasury. Hardin falsely claimed that he was authorized by the U.S. Department of Treasury to produce and issue the worthless documents, which he claimed had monetary value and could be used to eliminate debt.